Foreign Policy Public Health Blog

Buffalo Teeth, Chicken Dinners, and 'Juju': The Strangest Sports Superstitions

After losing a key match to their rivals How Mine, officials from the Zimbabwean soccer team CAPS United decided to check out the locker room of their opponents. What they found convinced the team that they had lost the match on account of their opponents'...

Published Thu, Nov 21 2013 11:21 AM by FP Passport

Filed under: North America, Africa, Fun Stuff

Everything Is Terrible: Kristen Stewart Will Star in a Romantic Take on '1984'

Unless you've been living under a rock, you've probably noticed that kids these days are obsessed with dark, dystopian novels, especially their film adaptations. There's the Hunger Games franchise, Divergent , The Bone Season , and Ender's...

Published Thu, Jan 16 2014 1:30 PM by FP Passport

Filed under: North America, Culture, Fun Stuff

How Did a German Man End Up Dead in a U.S. Drone Strike?

On Feb. 16, 2012 a missile launched from an American drone struck a pickup truck outside the city of Mir Ali in Pakistan's rugged tribal region. As many as 15 men died in the attack, which many reports claimed killed mostly "Uzbek Islamists."...

Published Wed, Jan 15 2014 7:00 AM by FP Passport

Filed under: Terrorism, Europe, Pakistan, Germany, National Security

The Angry, Disillusioned Music of the London Rapper Accused of Beheading James Foley

North Korea Joins Chorus of Trolls Slamming U.S. Over Ferguson

Will Mongolia host Asia's nuclear waste?

The U.S. is reportedly in talks with Mongolia about the country setting up an international repository for nuclear waste, reports National Journal: U.S. Energy Department officials and their counterparts in Ulaanbaatar, the Mongolian capital, are in the...

Published Thu, Mar 31 2011 11:56 AM by FP Passport

Putin's whirlwind Middle East tour

Russia and Israel may disagree on Iran's nuclear program, but President Vladimir Putin and his entourage of about 400 officials and businessmen were warmly welcomed by Israeli officials during the Russian leader's first visit to the country in...

Published Tue, Jun 26 2012 11:03 AM by FP Passport

Filed under: Security, Russia, Politics, Middle East, Israel/Palestine, Caucasus, Iran

Germany's stiff upper lip

Germany experienced its first Islamist attack on Wednesday when a man by the name of Arid U. (Germany withholds the last names of suspects in ongoing investigations) opened fire at the Frankfurt airport, killing two U.S. military personnel and injuring...

Published Fri, Mar 04 2011 10:05 AM by FP Passport

Filed under: Europe, Germany

Meet Russia's Newest Recruits: Ukraine's Combat Dolphins

The Ukrainian military is promising to one day reclaim its former bases in Crimea, but one unit has been lost forever: Ukraine's combat dolphins, who are now swimming for Russia. The dolphins, stationed in a Ukrainian navy oceanarium in Sevastopol...

Published Wed, Mar 26 2014 11:52 AM by FP Passport

Filed under: Russia, Eastern Europe, Military, Ukraine

The Secret History of Social Control Through Haircuts

Listen up, depraved youth of North Korea: Your long-haired revolution is officially over. According to Radio Free Asia, the North Korean government has introduced guidelines mandating all male university students get the same haircut as Supreme Leader...

Published Wed, Mar 26 2014 4:24 PM by FP Passport

Suspect in Ukrainian journalist's murder flips on former president

The ongoing trial over the murder of Ukrainian journalist Georgiy Gongadze -- one of the key events in the lead-up to the 2004-2005 Orange Revolution -- took another twist with suspect Olexiy Pukach fingering former president Leonid Kuchma as the mastermind...

Published Wed, Aug 31 2011 11:09 AM by FP Passport

Just How Effective Are the Federal Government's Background Checks?

Among the many mysteries of the Edward Snowden affair, one in particular stands out: How did the National Security Agency not know it had a leaker in its midst? Put aside the question of how Snowden allegedly downloaded top-secret files onto a thumb drive...

Published Fri, Jun 28 2013 3:30 PM by FP Passport

Filed under: National Security

Why is China really afraid of Lady Gaga?

Last week, China's culture ministry added 100 songs to an internet blacklist, including hits by Lady Gaga, Beyonce, and the Backstreet Boys. Chinese music websites have until Sept. 15 to remove the offending songs, unless record labels submit the...

Published Thu, Aug 25 2011 10:41 AM by FP Passport

Filed under: China, Culture, Fun Stuff, Celebs

Morning Brief: U.S. Considers Military Action After Syrian Chemical Weapons Strike

U.S. Considers Military Action After Syrian Chemical Weapons Strike Top news: With casualties mounting in Syria's civil war and consistent reports of a major chemical weapons attack in Syria, President Obama huddled with his military advisers over...

Published Mon, Aug 26 2013 5:52 AM by FP Passport

Filed under: Morning Brief

Chile struck by massive 8.8 earthquake

Chile was rocked by an 8.8-magnitude earthquake early this morning, and reports are still dribbling out about its effects, including the tragic deaths so far of at least 85 people. There's still much we don't know -- particularly about what's...

Published Sat, Feb 27 2010 6:46 AM by FP Passport

Filed under: Disasters, Latin America